RETAIN Kentucky Impact Evaluation

NCT05173350 | Enrolling By Invitation

• 2 other identifiers: RTN-KYOD-36364-21-75-4-21
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 3,200
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The Retaining Employment and Talent after Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN) demonstration is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to improve employment outcomes for individuals who experience injuries or illnesses that put them at risk of exiting the labor force and relying on disability programs and other public supports in the long term. RETAIN projects include a combination of medical provider services, stay-at-work/return-to-work (SAW/RTW) coordination services, and other SAW/RTW services. This evaluation will focus on The Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet's implementation of "RETAIN KY" statewide. The evaluation will document how the project is implemented, describe enrollees, estimate the project's impacts on enrollees' outcomes, and assess whether the benefits outweigh the costs.

Conditions

Disability

Keywords

disability; employment; unemployment

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Share of enrollees employed in the fourth quarter after enrollment

  Share of enrollees employed in the fourth quarter after enrollment obtained from state unemployment insurance wage records. These files include individual-level wage records for six quarters surrounding enrollment in the study, including the quarter prior to enrollment, the quarter of enrollment, and four post-enrollment quarters.

  Measured over the three months in the fourth quarter after enrollment

• Enrollee earnings in the fourth quarter after enrollment

  Sum of enrollee earnings in the fourth quarter after enrollment obtained from state unemployment insurance wage records. These files include individual-level wage records for six quarters surrounding enrollment in the study, including the quarter prior to enrollment, the quarter of enrollment, and four post-enrollment quarters.

  Measured over the three months in the fourth quarter after enrollment

• Share of enrollees that applied for SSDI or SSI during the 12 months after enrollment

  Share of enrollees that applied for SSDI or SSI during any of the 12 months after enrollment obtained from SSA program data. These files include detailed information about Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) applications SSDI and SSI awards, SSDI and SSI benefit amounts and enrollee characteristics (for enrollees who have ever applied for SSA program benefits)

  Measured in the 12 months after enrollment

Study Arms (2)

RETAIN Programming

EXPERIMENTAL

The experimental group receives the full set of RETAIN intervention activities.

Other: RETAIN KY

Active Comparator

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The active comparator group does not receive the full set of RETAIN intervention activities.

Other: Active Comparator

Interventions

RETAIN KY OTHER

The experimental group receives a combination of medical provider services, stay-at-work (SAW)/return-to-work (RTW) coordination services, and other SAW/RTW services. Services offered by the project include individualized intensive vocational services from RETAIN RTW Coordinators, with an emphasis on assistive technology, universal design, and peer support. The project provides training on SAW/RTW best practices and RETAIN, as well as financial incentives to health care professionals. The treatment group is eligible to receive the full set of RETAIN intervention activities.

RETAIN Programming

Active Comparator OTHER

Those in the active comparator arm continue to receive medical services. A RTW coordinator creates a RTW plan with the enrollee and refers them to existing resources. The RTW coordinator works with enrollees for 2.5 hours total.

Active Comparator

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Individuals who are at risk of exiting the workforce due to non-work-related illness of injury
• Individuals who are employed or have been employed within the last 12 months and made at least $1,000 in one of those months
• Individuals who reside in the Kentucky
• Individuals must not have applied for or be receiving federal disability benefits including SSDI and SSI within the last 5 years

You may not qualify if:

• Individuals who are do not have a non-work-related illness or injury that puts them at risk of exiting the workforce
• Individuals who unemployed or have not been employed within the last 12 months
• Individuals who have not made at least $1,000 in the past 12 months
• Individuals who do not reside in the Kentucky
• Individuals who have applied for or be receiving federal disability benefits including SSDI and SSI within the last 5 years

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.: lead
• Social Security Administration, The United States: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Human Development Institute, University of Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky, 40506, United States

Location

Study Officials

• Jill Berk, PhD

  Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 5, 2021
• First Posted: December 29, 2021
• Study Start: October 18, 2021
• Primary Completion: June 1, 2025
• Study Completion: February 28, 2026
• Last Updated: January 24, 2022

Record last verified: 2021-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)